Cahaya Expressive Arts Therapy
Cahaya Expressive Arts Therapy is situated on Dharug Country and acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land. Cahaya Expressive Arts Therapy recognises and respects their continuing culture and connections to land, water and community.
Cahaya Expressive Arts Therapy pays respect to their Elders past, present and future and extends this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia.
Art Therapy Process
What happens in an Art Therapy session?
The therapist carefully selects and utilises modalities and mediums to align with your needs and therapeutic goals. An intervention plan integrates these with evidence-informed psychotherapy models. A multi-modal approach is adopted, ensuring you will explore and experience more than one modality during each session.
Sessions typically commence with a check-in, grounding exercises, and emotional regulation techniques designed to facilitate your transition into the creative process. During this phase, you actively engage with various art media to express your inner experiences.
Following this creative process phase, there is a period of silent contemplation on what you have created. Your art therapist guides you through inquiries and reflections, helping you explore both the creative process and the deeper meanings behind your artwork.
Integration of insights gained from the session is an important part of the therapeutic process, guided by your art therapist. They also assist in preparing you to safely conclude the session, discussing any goals you wish to focus on in future sessions.
What do we aim for in Art Therapy?
Art Therapy is an experiential process and artistic skills are not necessary. The receptive and expressive modes of communication in art therapy engage kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic functions that transcend verbal limitations. Each client will have a unique experience of art therapy. Your art therapist will customise your treatment plans according to your goals.
Our aim in therapy is to:
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enhance physical and mental well-being
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establish self-reflection
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increase self-esteem
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facilitate self-discovery
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provide a safe space to overcome trauma
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enhance awareness of self and others
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reduce the intensity of mental formations and physical tensions
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transform thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours
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improve quality of life
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regulate emotions
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transcend self-imposed limitations
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reduce anxiety, depression, and feelings of despair
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experience pleasure and beauty
Our Specialisations
At Cahaya Arts Therapy, we offer specialised services that cater to various emotional and psychological needs. Our therapist is adept in utilising creative arts, psychotherapy and meditative techniques to address a wide range of concerns, including but not limited to:
Depression
Bereavement
Life's Transitions
Life's Transitions
Anxiety & Stress
Self-Harm
Sleep Problems
Self-Worth
Life's Transitions
Grief
Trauma
Coping Skills
Anxiety & Stress
Peer Relationships
Recovery
Please contact me for a free 15 minutes consultation on 0406 028 998 or submit your request using the form below
Our Services
Our services are delivered in-person (in-home for individuals under 18 years old only), or at an agreed location, or online via video call.
How to Book a Session after your initial phone consultation
To book a session, please contact us via email or phone (during opening hours).
How do I secure my booking?
When contacting us to schedule in a session, we will require you to make a 50% deposit (not applicable for Packaged sessions) to secure the appointment (non-refundable unless sufficient notice is given as per T&Cs). We will then ask you to pay the remaining amount at the start of your session.
How will the session be delivered?
It is up to you whether you would like to have an in-person session in your home (for under 18 years) or in another setting (e.g. local park). Alternatively, we do also have online video call sessions. Please do let us know which you would prefer during the booking.
Confidentiality and privacy terms & conditions apply.
What happens after I make a booking?
To secure your booking, we will send you a temporary appointment confirmation email with the details of your provisional booking, along with the following:
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Intake Form
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Informed Consent Form
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Informed Consent Policy & Practice
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Confidentiality & Privacy Policy
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Bank details & instructions on how to make the 50% deposit
You will be required to read and complete these documents, send them back via email, and make the required deposit within the set timeframe.
What if I cannot make the session?
Should you not be able to make the session please notify us at least 24 hours in advance to your scheduled appointment (not applicable for Group Sessions).
Failure to do so will incur a forfeit of 50% of the full fees.
For further information on this, please see the Informed Consent Policy & Practice.
Meet Your Art Therapist
Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts Therapy and is a registered member of PACFA (The Psychotherapy and Counsellors Association of Australia). In her work, she combines a multimodal approach to expressive arts therapy and various evidence-informed theoretical frameworks and models in psychotherapy.
Stephanie integrates practices from Eastern spirituality and philosophies into her work, emphasising collaboration with clients. She is deeply interested in the mental health and well-being of middle adolescents, young adults, men, and veterans.
Her approach centers on delivering tailored therapeutic support that addresses the unique challenges and experiences of these specific populations through the transformative lens of expressive arts therapy. She firmly believes in the profound impact of expressive arts therapy and incorporates trauma-informed care and culturally sensitive interventions into her practice.
My Approach:
Client-centered and Community-oriented
My professional mantra:
Life is relational, health is relational and art therapy is relational
"Relationships play a central role in the therapeutic process. The triangular dynamic involving the client, the therapist, and the creative art process serves as a vessel of containment, the emergence of new meanings, and the flow of renewed energy."
Stephanie
Cahaya Expressive Arts Therapy